Devices for protecting horn and antler tips

ABSTRACT

Devices for protecting horn and antler tips and, in particular, devices for protecting the tips of palmated and non-palmated antlers and horns of game animal when packaging, transporting and shipping antlers and horns of game animals.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The field relates generally to devices for protecting horn and antler tips and, in particular, devices for protecting the tips of palmated and non-palmated antlers and horns of game animal when packaging, transporting and shipping antlers and horns of game animals.

BACKGROUND

There are man types of game animals such as moose, deer and elk, which live on various continents around the world. These game animals have various forms of antler or horn structures that grow as extensions of the animal's skull. In general, antlers are branching bony appendages that are shed normally. All male cervids, such as moose, deer, and elk have antlers. As antlers grow, they are covered in a thin fuzzy skin covering called “velvet” which contains blood, vessels that supply blood to the antlers and help the antlers grow. The velvet is shed before rutting season.

On the other hand, horns are a pointed projection of skin and hair of an animal, consisting of a layer of keratin surrounding a living bone core that grows as an extension of the animal's skull. Animals that have horns include, for example, bovines, sheep, goats, and antelopes, in general, true horns are never shed and continue to grow throughout the life of the animal. However, the horn, sheath of the Pronghorn is different from either the antlers of deer or the true horns of cattle or Bison. The horn sheath of a Pronghorn is made of keratin growing on as bony core and is shed annually. While true horns are never branched, the horn sheath is branched in male pronghorns.

In general, there are two basic types of antler structures including palmated antlers and non-palmated antler. Palmated antlers (or “shovel-horn” type) are characterized by wide up-reaching parallel palms, whereas non-palmated antlers (or “pole-horn” type) are characterized by having elongated long tines or spike-like structures. Palmated antlers are flattened structures with flat and wide points, in comparison to non-palmated antlers which have elongated points. FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 show different types of antler structures.

In particular, FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a palmated antler 10. In the example of FIG. 1, the palmated antler 10 generally includes a beam 11, as brow palmation 12 or brow palm), and a main palmation 14 (or main palm). The brow and main palms 12 and 14 are flattened structures that extend from the beam 11. The brow palm 12 comprises a plurality of points 13 referred to as “brow tines.” The main palm 14 is fringed with a series of mini points 15 and 16 referred to as “spellers.” While some of the points 15 are elongated, other points 16 are flat and wide (triangular shaped). For example, FIG. 2 illustrates a portion of a palmated antler 20 having an elongated point 22 and a wide, flattened tip structure 24. The wide flattened tip structure 24 is triangular shaped, wherein the tip structure 24 has a wide base 24A with sides that converge to a point 248. A palmated antler structure may also have narrow, elongated point, such as point 22 shown in FIG. 2 and points 13 shown in FIG. 1.

As noted above, in contrast to palmated antler structures as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, non-palmated antlers do not include flattened tip structures. For example, FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a non-palmated antler 30 having elongated spikes antler tips. In particular, as shown in FIG. 3, the antler 30 includes a main beam structure 31 with a series of elongated, rod-shaped points 32 extending from the main beam structure 31.

Hunters of game animals such as moose, deer, and elk will typically want a trophy of a successful hunt by having an animal head with antlers or hems shipped to a taxidermist for preservation and mounting. When shipping animal heads with antlers or horns, or shipping a mounted animal bead trophy with antlers or horns, etc., it is important to properly package the mounted or un-mounted animal heads and antlers, otherwise, the antler and horns can be broken or destroyed during transit due to poor packaging and mishandling. For example, when the antlers of a whitetail deer are placed in a package such as a cardboard box or wooden crate, for example, and the package is mishandled during shipping, the tips of the antlers can penetrate the walls of the package and, upon doing so, break due to pressure applied to the antler bps. Moreover, in many cases, hunters who use airplanes to transport their trophy animals will usually place a trophy in either a garbage bag, canvas bag, gym bag or any other type of carry-on bag material, which can be easily penetrated by an antler or horn find not only break the anther or horn tip, but also impale, scratch, cut, either the carrier or another person.

The breaking of antlers and horns leads to other problems such as unduly altering the look of an otherwise beautiful trophy, or reducing the game scoring capability of the trophy. Indeed, when scoring an animal head with antlers/horns for recognition by one or more known hunting organizations that maintain scores of the animal, broken antler or horn tips will negatively affect the overall score when compared to other points or horn material on the same animal. If the hunter does not record a score with such an organization, a taxidermist can recreate the tip of the antler or horn, thus preventing the hunter from having the animal entered into such records because the scoring is based on a measure of the actual antler or horn material length and circumference, and not recreated antler structures.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention generally include devices for protecting horn and antler tips and, in particular, devices for protecting the tips of palmated and non-palmated antlers and horns of game animal when packaging, transporting and shipping antlers and horns of game animals.

In one embodiment of the invention, a device for protecting ups of horn or antler structures includes a collar member having an open end and a closed end. The closed end of the collar member includes a planar structure that is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the collar member, wherein a width of the planar structure is at least as wide as the open end of the collar member. The collar member is dimensioned to insertably receive a tip of an animal antler or horn through the open end of the collar member and to slideably receive a length of the tip until an end of the tip contacts an inner surface of the planar structure.

In another embodiment of the invention, a raised retaining structure is formed on the inner surface of the planar structure, wherein the retaining structure is dimensioned to insertably receive the tip end of the antler tip.

In yet another embodiment of the invention, the collar member includes at least two separate sidewall members defined by at least a first cutout region and a second cutout region. The first and second cutout regions extend from the open end of the collar member to a point along a length of the collar member before the closed end.

In another embodiment, the device is formed of a semi-rigid material such that the at least two separate sidewall members can flex outwardly away from each other to effectively increase the width of the first opening of the collar member as the collar member slideably engages a portion of an antler or horn tip that is thicker than the width of the first opening of the collar member.

These and other embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments, which is to be read in conjunction with the accompanying figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OR THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a palmated antler.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portion of a palmated antler having a wide, flattened tip structure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a non-palmated antler having elongated rod-shaped antler tips.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a device for protecting horn and antler tips according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4B is a side view of the device of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view of the device of FIG. 4B taken along line 4C-4C in FIG. 4B.

FIG. 4D is a bottom view of the device of FIG. 4B when viewed from line 4D-4D in FIG. 4B.

FIG. 5 illustrates a use of the device shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D for protecting a non-palmated antler or horn tip according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates a use of the device of FIGS. 4A, 48, 4C, and 4D for protecting a palmated antler or horn tip, according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate a device for protecting horn and antler tips according to another embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate a device for protecting horn and antler tips according to another embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described in further detail with reference to devices for protecting horn and antler tips and, in particular, devices for protecting the tips of palmated and non-palmated antlers and horns of game animal when packaging, transporting and shipping antlers and horns of game animals. FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D illustrate a device 40 for protecting horn and antler tips according to an embodiment of the invention. In particular, FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the tip protecting device 40. FIG. 4B is a side view of the tip protecting device 40 of FIG. 4A. FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view of the tip protecting device 40 of FIG. 4B taken along line 4C-4C in FIG. 48. FIG. 4D is a bottom view of the tip protecting device 40 shown in FIG. 4B when viewed from line 4D-4D in FIG. 4B.

Referring collectively to FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D, the tip-protecting device 40 comprises a collar member 41 comprising an open end 42 and a closed end 43. The closed end 43 of the collar member 41 comprises a planar structure that is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the collar member 41. In one embodiment of the invention, a width of the planar structure 43 is at least as wide as a width (w) as the open end 42 of the collar member 41. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4C, for example, the width of the planar structure 43 is wider than the width (w) of the open end 42 of the collar member 41.

As further shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D, for example, the collar member 41 comprises at least two separate sidewall members 41A and 41B defined by at least a first cutout region 44 and a second cutout region 45. The last and second cutout regions 44 and 45 extend from the open end 42 of the collar member 41 to a point along a length of the collar member 41 before the closed end 43. In one embodiment of the invention, the first and second cutout regions 44 and 45 are disposed opposite each other on the collar member 41. In one embodiment of the invention, the collar member 41 is dimensioned to insertably receive a tip of an animal antler or horn through the open end 42 of the collar member 41 and to slideably receive a length of the tip until an end of the tip contacts an inner surface 43A of the planar structure 43.

For instance, FIG. 5 illustrates a use of the tip protecting device 40 of FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D for protecting a non-palmated antler or horn tip, according to an embodiment of the invention. More specifically, FIG. 5 shows an elongated spike-shaped antler tip 50 of a non-palmated antler having the tip-protecting device 40 disposed over the tip end portion of the antler tip 50. With the tip protecting device 40 disposed over the antler tip 50 as shown in FIG. 5, the planar structure 43 forming the closed end of the collar member 41 provides blunt, wide surface area that would otherwise prevent the antler tip 50 from puncturing/penetrating the walls of a package in which the antler tip is contained for shipping. Moreover, the use of the tip protecting device 40 with a blunt planar structure 43 prevents persons from being impaled by the pointed ends of antler tips when handling antlers.

In an embodiment of the invention where the tip protecting device 40 is formed of a semi-rigid material (e.g. rubber or plastic.), the two separate sidewall members 41A and 41B can flex outwardly away from each other to effectively increase the width of the first opening 42 of the collar member 41 as the collar member 41 slideably engages a portion of an antler or horn tip 50 that becomes thicker than the width (w) of the first opening 42 of the collar member 41 as the rip protecting device 40 is placed in position over the antler tip. In particular, when the tip protecting device 40 is slid down over the top of the antler tip 50, as the antler tip moves closer to the inner surface 43A of the planar structure 43, the two separate sidewall members 41A and 41B can flex outwardly if the width of the antler tip starts to become wider than the width (w) of the open end 42. This allows the tip protecting device 40 to slide down far enough for the upper point of the antler tip 50 to make contact to the inner surface 43A of the planar structure 43. However, it is not necessary for an antler tip 50 to make contact to the inner surface 43A of the planar structure for the tip protecting device 40 to serve an intended purpose of protecting the antler tips from penetrating through packaging or impaling a person, etc.

The flexing of the two separate sidewall members 41A and 41B not only enables the device 40 to accommodate spike-shaped antler tips with widths that are slightly wider that the normal width (w) of the open end 42 of the collar member 41, the slight outward flexure of the sidewall members 41A and 41B provides a retaining mechanism wherein the bottom portions of the sidewall members 41A and 41B squeeze against the antler tip 50 to hold the tip protecting device 40 in place. In other embodiments, wherein the antler tip is not that wide, and there is no flexing of the sidewall members 41A and 41B, the device 40 can be retained on the antler tip 50 by using a suitable adhesive tape to tape the open end 42 of the collar 41 to the antler tip 50. In all instances, an adhesive tape can be used to hold the tip protecting device 40 in place, even when the flexing mechanism (as noted above) is sufficient to frictionally retain the tip protecting device 40 on the antler tip 50.

Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 4C and 4D, as an optional element, in another embodiment of the invention, the tip-protecting device 40 includes a raised retaining structure 46 that is formed on the inner surface 43A of the planar structure 43. The retaining structure 46 is dimensioned to insertably receive an end of an antler tip. In one embodiment of the invention, as specifically shown in FIG. 4D, the raised retaining structure 46 is a ring-shaped structure. In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 5, by positioning the end of the antler tip 50 within the walls of the raised retaining structure 46 on the inner surface 43A of the planar structure 43, the top portion of the tip protecting device 40 is stabilized in position and prevented from moving back and forth with the end of the antler op hitting against the inner side walls of the collar member 41.

The cutout regions 44 and 45 of the collar member 41 not only allow flexing of the two separate sidewall members 41A and 41B to accommodate thicker spike-shaped antler tips, but also serve a purpose of providing apertures on the collar member 41 to accommodate the tip end of a wide palmated antler tip. For example, FIG. 6 illustrates a use of the protective device 40 for protecting a palmated antler, according to an embodiment of the invention. In particular. FIG. 6 illustrates a portion of a palmated antler 60 having a wide, flattened triangular-shaped tip structure 61. FIG. 6 shows the protective device 40 disposed over the palmated tip structure 61, wherein portions of the sloping side edges of the palmated tip 61 extend from the cutout regions 44 and 45 of the collar member 41. In this regard, the cutout regions 44 and 45 of the collar member 41 enable the tip protecting device 40 to be slipped down over the tipper portion of a flattened, palmated antler tip, as long as a thickness of the palmated tip does not exceed the site of width of the cutout regions 44 and 45.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate a device 70 for protecting horn and antler tips according to another embodiment of the invention. In particular, FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of the tip protecting device 70 and FIG. 7B is a bottom view of the tip protecting device 70 shown in FIG. 7A when viewed from line 7B-7B in FIG. 7A. The tip protecting device 70 of FIGS. 7A and 7B is similar to the tip protecting device 40 as shown in FIGS. 4B and 4D, except that the tip protecting device 70 further comprises friction elements 71 and 72 disposed on the bottom inner surfaces of each of the separate side wall members 41A and 41B at the open end 42 of the collar member 41. The friction elements 71 and 72 serve a purpose of providing a retaining mechanism instead of or in conjunction with, the flexing action of the separate sidewall members 41A and 41B, as discussed above. The friction elements 71 and 72 may be formed of a rubber material, a foam material, or any other suitable material that provides a sufficient coefficient of static friction with regard to the material of the antler tip to provide a frictional retaining function, and which can be crushed by an applied force, and then return its initial shape and form when the applied force is removed.

in this manner, as in the example of FIG. 5, when the tip protecting device 70 is slid down over the top of the antler tip 50, as the antler tip moves closer to the inner surface 43A of the planar structure 43, the friction elements 71 and 72 may begin to make contact with the antler tip 50 and then start to become slightly crushed as the width of the antler tip becomes increasingly wider than the distance between the friction elements 71 and 72. In this manner, the frictional contact between the friction elements 71 and 72 and the surface of the antler tip 50 may be sufficient to hold the tip protecting device 70 in place without the use of an adhesive tape, as discussed above.

When using the friction elements 71 and 72, the tip protecting device 70 can be formed of a rigid material, such as metal or very hard plastic, for example, such that the outward flexing of the separate side wall members 41A and 41B at the open end 42 of the collar member 41 would not be needed as a mechanism for providing compressive friction for retaining the device 70 in place, or otherwise increasing the size of the open end 42 to accommodate larger width antler tips. By using the friction elements 71 and 72, an increase in the size of the open end of the collar member 41 and the frictional retaining mechanism can be achieved by the operation of temporarily crushing of the frictional elements 71 and 72, as discussed above.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate a device 80 for protecting born and antler tips according to another embodiment of the invention. In particular, FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view of the tip protecting device 80 and FIG. 8B is a bottom view oldie tip protecting device 80 shown in FIG. 8A when viewed from line 8B-8B in FIG. 8A. The tip protecting device 80 comprises a collar member 81 comprising an open end 82 and a closed end 83. The closed end 83 of the collar member 81 comprises a planar structure that is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the collar member 81. In one embodiment of the invention, a width of the planar structure 83 is at least as wide as a width of the open end 82 of the collar member 81, although in the illustrative embodiment of FIGS. 8A and 8B, the planar structure 83 is shown to be wider that the open end 82 of the collar member 81.

In contrast to the tip protecting devices 40 and 70 as discussed above, the collar member 81 of the tip-protecting device 80 does not include cut out regions, so that the sidewall of the collar member 81 is continuous all around. The tip protecting device $0 comprises a friction element 84 disposed on an inner surface of the open end 82 of the collar member 81. The friction element 84 may be formed of a rubber material, a foam material, or any other suitable material that provides a sufficient coefficient of static friction with regard to the material of the antler up, and which can be crushed by an applied force, and then return to its initial shape and form when the applied force is removed.

As with the embodiment of the tip protecting, device 70 discussed above with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B, the friction element 84 shown in FIG. 8B serves several purposes such as enabling an effective increase in the size of the open end 82 as the frictional element 84 is crushed to accommodate thicker antler tips as well as providing a frictional retaining mechanism by virtue of the coefficient of static friction of the friction element 84 in contact with the surface of the antler tip, as discussed above.

The tip protecting devices discussed above may be made of any suitable materials such as metallic materials, plastics or composite materials, using suitable manufacturing techniques such as injection molding, for example, or by CNC machining techniques. The dimensions of the tip protecting devices can vary to accommodate smaller or larger palmated and non-palmated antler tips. For example, in one non-limiting embodiment, a tip protecting device 40 such as shown in FIG. 4A-4D can be about 2 inches long, the width of the open end 42 can be about ¾ of an inch, and the with of the close end 43 can be about one inch. Again, tip protecting devices according to embodiments of the invention can be fabricated in set of various dimensions to accommodate a wide range of variable size and shaped antler and horn tips.

Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described herein with reference to the accompanying figures, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may be made therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for protecting tips of horn or antler structures, comprising: a collar member comprising an open end and a closed end, wherein the closed end of the collar member comprises a planar structure that is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the collar member, wherein a width of the planar structure is at least as wide as the open end of the collar member; wherein the collar member is dimensioned to insertably receive a tip of an animal antler or horn through the open end of the collar member and to slideably receive a length of the tip until an end of the tip contacts an inner surface of the planar structure.
 2. The device of claim 1, further comprising a raised retaining structure formed on the inner surface of the planar structure, wherein the retaining structure is dimensioned to insertably receive the end of the tip.
 3. The device of claim 2, wherein the raised retaining structure is a raised ring structure.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein the width of the planar structure is wider than the width of the open end of the collar member.
 5. The device of claim 1, further comprising a friction element disposed on an inner surface a the open end of the collar member.
 6. The device of claim 5, wherein the friction element is formed of a rubber material.
 7. The device of claim 5, wherein the friction element is formed of a foam material.
 8. The device of claim 5, wherein the collar member comprises at least two separate sidewall members defined by at least a first cutout region and a second cutout region, wherein the first and second cutout regions extend from the open end of the collar member to a point along a length of the collar member before the closed end.
 9. The device of claim 8, wherein the first and second cutout regions are disposed opposite each other.
 10. The device of claim 8, flintier comprising a friction element disposed on an inner surface of each of the at least two separate sidewall members at the open end of the collar member.
 11. The device of claim 10, wherein the friction element is formed of a rubber material.
 12. The device of claim 10, wherein the friction element is formed of a foam material.
 13. The device of claim 8, wherein the device is formed of a semi-rigid material such that the at least two separate sidewall members can flex outwardly away from each other to effectively increase the width of the first opening of the collar member as the collar member slideably engages a portion of an wider or horn tip that is thicker than the width of the is opening of the collar member.
 14. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is formed of a rigid material.
 15. The device of claim 14, wherein the rigid material is a plastic material.
 16. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is formed of a semi-rigid material.
 17. The device of claim 16, wherein the semi-rigid material is a rubber material.
 18. The device of claim 16, wherein the semi-rigid material is a plastic material. 